Nick Kyrgios has claimed that he would quit the ATP Tour “imminently” if a Saudi-backed breakaway tour emerged. Notably, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the likes of football, Boxing, Formula One and Golf in recent years.
The Saudis have helped set up LIV Golf, and from day one, the company began to use its unlimited funding to entice some of the world’s top players to leave the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf. Rumors have surfaced in recent months that the country now wants to play a bigger role in tennis.
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On December 27, an exhibition match will be held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. The match will feature top-ranked players, with Novak Djokovic set to face Carlos Alcaraz.
Kyrgios told The Athletic that if Tennis followed Golf’s lead and created a new tour that would be funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, he would not hesitate to jump on the bandwagon.
“I would have been the first one to jump off, I would have gone. I would have just let the ATP ship sink,” the 28-year-old said.
According to reports, Saudi Arabia wants to host the WTA Finals in 2024. Negotiations were said to be at an advanced stage, with both sides eager to sign a long-term agreement.
After a breakthrough 2022 season that saw him reach the singles final at Wimbledon for the first time in his career and win the doubles at the Australian Open, he played just one tournament in 2023 before undergoing knee surgery. He also suffered a wrist injury that kept him out of action for much of the year.
